The invention relates generally to accessory assemblies for vehicle interiors, with the invention being especially well-suited for accessory assemblies adapted for receiving and holding generally cylindrical items of different diameters, such as liquid beverage containers.
It is desirable to provide facilities for receiving, storing, or holding miscellaneous items in the interior of a vehicle. The difficulty that is frequently encountered in providing these facilities stems from the fact that such miscellaneous items are often of different shapes or sizes and thus present special storage or holding problems in a moving vehicle. These difficulties are particularly troublesome in providing holding facilities for liquid beverage containers, which are typically found in a very wide variety of shapes and sizes, with the contents of such containers being easily spilled when the containers are open. In addition, although most liquid beverage containers are generally cylindrical in shape, they frequently have tapered sides, or handles protruding outwardly from their sidewalls.
The present invention seeks to address the problems and difficulties described above in providing an accessory assembly for a vehicle that is selectively extendible and retractable in order to accommodate different shapes and sizes of items received and held therein. The present invention is especially advantageously employed for holding liquid beverage containers of varying shapes, sizes, and configurations, while allowing the accessory assembly according to the present invention to be retracted in order to present a neat appearance during non-use.
An accessory assembly for a vehicle interior is adapted in its preferred embodiment for receiving and holding generally cylindrical items of different diameters placed therein. Such an accessory assembly includes a generally hollow, cylindrical base portion and a generally hollow, cylindrical receptacle, with the receptacle being disposed at least partially within the base portion in a substantially coaxial relationship therewith. The receptacle is selectively and slidably movable in an axial direction within the base portion at least between an extended position and a retracted position.
In order to accommodate such selective movement of the receptacle with respect to the base portion, the base portion includes at least one recess, groove, or slot formed in its base sidewall, with the receptacle having at least one resiliently deflectable protuberance protruding radially outwardly therefrom. Such protuberance is resiliently biased radially outwardly for engaging, and being received in, the recess in the base portion in order to hold the receptacle in its extended position. The protuberance is also resiliently deflectable radially inwardly out of engagement with the recess in order to allow the receptacle to be selectively moved from its extended position to its retracted position.
Preferably, an anti-rotation feature is provided for substantially preventing circumferential rotation of the receptacle within the base cylinder. The receptacle and the base portion also preferably include cut-out portions of their respective sidewalls, with the respective cut-out portions being substantially coextensive and substantially aligned, both circumferentially and axially, when the receptacle is in its retracted position. Another preferred feature of the present invention includes configurations of the receptacle's resiliently deflectable protuberance and the base portion's sidewall such that the protuberance contacts a part of the base portion in both its extended and retracted positions, thereby substantially preventing any tendency of the receptacle to rattle within the base portion. Also, since vehicle interiors are typically exposed to extreme variations in temperature throughout seasonal use, such configurations are preferably adapted to minimize undesirable effects resulting from temperature-caused pre-loads on the resiliently deflectable protuberances or from the protuberances taking an undesirable set over time, with repeated usage. Finally, an accessory assembly according to the present invention also preferably prevents unintentional removal of the receptacle from within the base portion, while still providing the capability of intentional removal for cleaning or replacement.
Additional objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.